USC Tries to Hit the Jackpot

The only roses here are streaks in the Atlantic sky, just before it turns dark and angry.

The only parade is the one by pierced and thonged pedestrians of South Beach.

The only granddaddies sit on cluttered street corners smoking Cuban cigars.

Who would have thought that USC, sweating through the most difficult final phases of a football rebirth, would find itself wheeled today into a room so distant, so strange, so ... Orange?

But so perfect.

The Rose Bowl, this ain’t. But as a promise-filled place for bringing something new into the world, it works.

Facing third-ranked Iowa today in the Orange Bowl, fifth-ranked USC has been granted a rare stage for great and sweeping change.

A team whose return to national prominence requires greater television exposure will be playing on national TV in the only game of the day.

A team hoping to recruit more players from one of this country’s most fertile football grounds will be playing smack in the middle of it.

A team that needs to break free from Pacific 10 stereotypes will be 3,000 miles from the Pac-10’s premier game, far from the ideas of running and gunning and folding.

The Rose Bowl is a wonderful spot to which USC rightfully aspires each season. But sometimes you need to step out of yourself to change yourself.

Today, in an Orange Bowl environment so different the game is not even played in the Orange Bowl, is that time.

“This is a wonderful opportunity to show the world what has happened with USC football,” said cornerback Darrell Rideaux, a senior who has hung on for every inch of a bumpy four-year ride. “This is our chance to show everybody we’re back.”

Back, not like the old Trojans who once ruled a small and elite college football world.

But back, like a team that understands the changes that have occurred since then.

In this new world of college football, you must first play defense. That is why Mike Garrett hired Pete Carroll. That is why today will be the first chapter in Carroll’s legacy.

To beat Iowa, the Trojans must defend against a scrambling quarterback who finished second in the Heisman Trophy race and a running back who gained more than 1,000 yards.

Sort of like when they played Kansas State. Remember? Back in September? Ell Roberson and Darren Sproles combined to lead the Wildcats to a 27-20 victory?

Today, Brad Banks is Roberson, Fred Russell is Sproles. And the Trojan defense, even though it hasn’t allowed a 100-yard rusher all season, has something to prove.

“I think one of our running backs will gain 100 yards; we always do,” Russell said. “I think we’ll just wear them down. They’re more about speed and quickness. They’re not used to the pounding.”

Give Russell credit. His interview session lasted all of 10 minutes before he lapsed into cliches about the Pac-10. But that is how people think. That perception hurts West Coast teams in everything from awards to polls.

Tonight, the Trojans can change all that.

In this new world of college football, you must be able to recruit Florida kids. They fill the rosters of powerhouses in Coral Gables, Gainesville and Tallahassee. To beat those schools, you must join them.

Until the arrival of freshmen Mike Williams and Mike Ross this season, USC had not been part of this world. Perhaps the most compelling statistic in this game is two. Before this season, that was the number of Florida-grown USC lettermen in the history of the program.

Another compelling statistic is .000. That’s USC’s winning percentage in games in the state of Florida. The Trojans are 0 for 4 here.

Tonight, they can change all that.

“This is a big deal,” said Williams, the Trojans’ best receiver, who was swiped from the Tampa area. “Growing up in Florida, you don’t see a lot of USC. Their games aren’t nationally televised. People aren’t talking about them.”

Like many young Florida athletes, Williams’ first impression of big-time college football occurred while watching the Orange Bowl.

“I saw Florida State win a national title there, and that got me first thinking about the school,” Williams said. “It could be the same for USC. This game gives them the exposure they need, in a place where they need it.”

Finally, with the beating taken by Pac-10 teams in the bowl season, with the criticism by Iowa players of Carson Palmer’s Heisman Trophy, there is the nagging notion of questions unanswered.

Are the Trojans really back? Is their quarterback really the best player in the country? Has this season been simply one big dream?

Tonight, in a test as acidic as the pulp from its name, we’ll find out.

A rose by another name. A rose even sweeter.

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Bill Plaschke can be reached at bill.plaschke@latimes.com.